An overview on role of yellow maize in food, feed and nutrition security

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(2): 3037-3048

International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences
ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 02 (2019)
Journal homepage:

Original Research Article

/>
An Overview on Role of Yellow Maize in Food, Feed and Nutrition Security
Jyoti Kaul1*, Khushbu Jain2 and Dhirender Olakh2
1

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012, India
2
ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012, India
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT

Keywords
Yellow maize, βcarotenes and
Xanthophylls,
Nutrition security

Article Info
Accepted:
22 January 2019
Available Online:
10 February 2019

Maize, Zea mays L., is one of the important cereal crops with diverse uses as food, feed,
fodder and industrial applications. As a food crop it is a primary source of nourishment to
people in Africa, Latin America and South Asia. It is also the principal energy source used
in poultry diets in most of the countries including India because of its high-energy value,
palatability, presence of pigments and essential fatty acids. Yellow kernelled cultivars are
preferred as poultry feed as it is a rich source of β-carotenes and xanthophylls conferring
yellow colour for colouration of egg yolk, poultry fat and skin. Maize also contains highest
amount of energy among cereal grains and has high TDN of 85-90%. By virtue of these
advantages, maize is known as nutri-cereal. It is however, deficient in two essential amino
acids namely lysine and tryptophan but with the discovery of opaque mutants, these
deficiencies were overcome through the breeding of opaque varieties which later paved
way to the development of Quality Protein Maize (QPM). The nutritionally enriched QPM
kernels contain double the quantity of lysine and tryptophan, balanced ratio of isoleucine
to leucine and increased desirable proteins viz. albumins, glutelins and globulins in their
endosperm. With its development, new vistas were opened up for achieving food and
nutrition security of the under-privileged masses. In this mini-review, role of yellow maize
in general and QPM in particular in augmenting food, feed and nutrition security
especially in Indian context is discussed.

Introduction
Among the various cereals, maize (Zea mays
L.) also called poor man’s nutri-cereal, is a
crop of opportunities as it has multiple uses as
food, feed and industrial applications. As a
food crop it provides about 30% of the
calories for approximately 4.5 billion people
in 94 developing countries. Globally, 63% of
maize is also used for livestock feed besides
being an important source of oil, starch,

biofuel, etc (Shiferaw et al., 2011). Currently,
the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina,
India, France, Indonesia, South Africa, and
Italy produce 79% of the world’s maize
(FAO, 2019).
In India, maize is among the three most
important cereal crops that caters to the
country’s diverse needs (poultry feed, nutrifoods and industrial applications) because of
which it registered very high growth rate

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particularly in last 1-2 decades (Kumar et al.,
2013). As per latest FAO estimates, the crop
occupied an area of 9.22 mha producing 28.72
mt with an average productivity of 3.11
tons/ha in 2017 (FAO, 2019).Based on the
prediction by International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI), maize demand is
expected to overtake that of wheat and rice by
2020 and that a large proportion of the
increased demand, 72%, will come from
developing countries. Within developing
countries the highest proportion of maize will
be used for food in countries of Sub Saharan
Africa (76%) and South Asia (70%).Whereas
East Asian countries would be using highest

proportion, 82%, as feed and 14% for
industrial uses, respectively (IPFRI, 2002;
FAO, 2009). In order to meet the increasing
demand, emphasis is being laid on developing
and disseminating high yielding cultivars with
resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Being
highly cross –pollinated, maize offers the
opportunity to exploit heterosis and hence
globally the breeding strategy emphasizes
evolving hybrids especially single cross
hybrids (SCHs) suitable for different
production ecologies.
Maize utilization
The diverse utilization of maize may be
ascribed to its kernel colour and texture. The
cultivars with yellow / yellow-orange/ orange
kernels (collectively known as yellow maize)
are generally preferred as poultry feed and
white as human food. Historically maize was
used more for local consumption. Over the
last two- three decades, its direct food usage
is on the decline due to number of reasons
including rising income levels and change in
food habits. Concurrently, the use of maize in
poultry feed and industrial applications have
gone up. Yellow kernelled cultivars are
preferred as poultry feed as it is a rich source
of β-carotenes and xanthophylls conferring
yellow colour for colouration of egg yolk,

poultry fat and skin when it is used at 30%
and above in the diet. Because of these
reasons, maize augments booming poultry
industry and feed nutrition security. The
kernel texture in maize is represented by flint
(F), semi-flint (SF), dent (D) and semi-dent
(SD), respectively. Flints or SFs are known
for their suitability for use in livestock feed
and possess added advantage of storing well
under harsh growing conditions. Bedsides
higher grain yield, D and SDs have soft starch
and hence are amenable to industrial
processing as well (Gwirtz and Garcia-Casal,
2014).
Maize kernel composition and anatomy
In general, maize kernel is a good source of
carbohydrates, fats, proteins and some of the
important vitamins and minerals. Especially
the macro-and micro-nutrients in maize kernel
contribute significantly to its enhanced food
and feed quality (Watson, 2003). Besides,
maize also contains highest amount of energy
(ME 3350 kcal/kg) among cereal grains.
Therefore, maize is termed as nutricereal.The
status of macro-molecules in Indian maize
genotypes is given in Table 1. In general,
maize genotypes of Indian origin are known
to have ~ 67-72 % starch, 12-15 % moisture,
8-12 % protein, 2-4% fat, 2-3% fibre and
around 1.5% minerals.

The maize kernel is composed of four primary
structures: endosperm, germ, pericarp, and tip
cap, making up 83%, 11%, 5%, and 1% of the
kernel, respectively. The endosperm is
primarily composed of starch and is
surrounded by a protein matrix. Two main
types of starch include hard or vitreous, and
soft or opaque. Former is negatively related to
starch degradability and in vivo starch
digestibility in ruminants. The germ or
embryo of the maize kernel is high in fat
(~33.3%) in addition to enzymes and nutrients
for growth and development of new maize

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Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(2): 3037-3048

plant. Nearly 80% of the kernel’s minerals are
contained in the germ while the endosperm
has <1%. Phosphorus (in the form of phytate),
potassium, and magnesium are the three-most
prevalent minerals found providing nearly
85% of kernel mineral content. The fourth
most abundant element is sulfur, mostly
present in an organic form as a constituent of
methionine and cystine. The germ also
contains antioxidants such as vitamin E.
Pericarp is a high-fiber (~ 8.8% crude) semipermeable barrier surrounding the endosperm

and germ, covering all but the tip cap. The tip
cap is the structure through which moisture
and
nutrients
pass
through
during
development and kernel dry down period. The
black layer or hilum on the tip cap acts as a
seal. Maize kernel is amenable to
manipulations that affect its nutritional value
as its composition is largely controlled by
genetics of the endosperm sink, maternal
parent and the environment (Nuss and
Tanumihardjo, 2010).
Variations in maize may also be defined
according to kernel texture as follows: dent,
flint, waxy, flour, sweet, pop and pod corn.
Except for pod corn, these divisions are based
on the quality, quantity, and pattern of
endosperm composition, which defines the
size of the kernel and are not indicative of
natural relationships. Endosperm composition
may be changed by a single gene difference,
as in the case of floury (fl) versus flint (FI),
sugary (su) versus starchy (Su), waxy (wx)
versus nonwaxy (Wx), and other single
recessive gene modifiers that have been used
in breeding special-purpose maize, viz. sweet
corn, popcorn, waxy maize, etc.

countries of the world. Asia as a whole has a
prevalence of undernourishment of 12.7 %
corresponding to 526 million people with
large differences across its sub- regions. India
has made significant progress in improving
food security of its masses. The green
revolution of 60’s helped the country in
achieving food security through improving
the availability and access components.
However,
the
availability
dimension
addressed the quantity, but not the quality of
food i.e. nutrition. Even though there has been
surplus of food grains at national level, yet
addressing malnutrition i.e. hidden hunger has
remained a daunting aspect of nutrition
security.
Discovery
of
opaque-2
gene
and
development of Quality Protein Maize
(QPM)
The quality of maize protein is poor due to the
presence of large concentration of an alcohol
soluble protein fraction, prolamines also

known as zeins. The zein proteins located in
endosperm are very low in lysine and
tryptophan contents and since this fraction
contributes >50% of the total protein, the
maize protein is, therefore, deficient in these
amino acids. Also, zein contains very high
amount of leucine and imbalanced proportion
of isoleucine as well. The ill- proportion of
four essential amino acids in kernels results in
poor protein quality affecting its biological
value i.e. the availability of protein to the
body. In addition commonly available maize
or Normal Maize (NM) lacks vitamin B and
also due to high concentrations of phytate,
bioavailability of some minerals in the grain
is low.

Maize and nutrition
Despite the world-wide increase of food
availability, there are still around 800 million
people undernourished. Vast majority of this
is from Sub Saharan Africa and developing

Globally, the research on various aspects of
protein quality was initiated during mid
1960’s when certain mutants were identified
in the experimental fields of Connecticut,
USA that later showed higher levels of lysine

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Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(2): 3037-3048

in their grains due to the presence of gene
called
opaque
2
(Mertz
et
al.,
1964).Following the discovery of fl2 and
other mutations in 1960s, several studies were
conducted to investigate the nutritional value
of these mutants. The observation that lysine
and tryptophan contents were double than that
in common maize eventually prompted the
breeding of opaque 2 varieties. The
deployment of such varieties on farmers’
fields, however, met with little success.
Despite the higher amino acid levels, the soft,
chalky endosperm characteristic of these
mutations was more susceptible to fungal ear
rots, lower yielding, and unappealing to maize
growers. With the discovery of opaque2
modifier genes, maize breeders at CIMMYT
took up conventional breeding programmes
that improved the agronomic shortcomings
and amino acid contents through backcrossing
and recurrent selection and were able to

produce higher yielding, lysine / tryptophan rich germplasm that lacked the characteristic
opaque endosperm. Such germplasm was
designated as Quality Protein Maize (Vasal,
2000; 2001).Quality Protein Maize (QPM)
was evolved by selecting genetic modifiers,
multiple, unlinked opaque modifiers (OPM)
that convert the starchy endosperm of an
opaque 2 mutant to a hard, vitreous
phenotype. The QPM genotypes are
homozygous for opaque- 2 gene and have
endosperm modifiers that provide grain
texture similar to NM. In QPM the
concentration of zein is lowered by ~30
percent, as a result lysine and tryptophan
contents double in the endosperm proteins
and the protein quality shows remarkable
improvement over normal counterparts. The
lower contents of leucine further balance the
ratios of leucine to isoleucine. The balanced
proportion of all these essential amino acid
enhances the biological value of protein. The
true protein digestibility is almost same, but
the biological value of QPM is just double as
compared to NM (Vasal et al., 1993).

Improving its protein quality therefore, has
been one of the major objectives of Indian
breeding programmes. The status of protein
quality measures in Indian maize genotypes
of NM and QPM is summarized in Table 2. A

perusal of data indicated the abundance of
prolamines (undesirable protein fraction) in
NM which is reduced to half in QPM
genotypes.
QPM and nutrition security
With the development of QPM cultivars, new
vistas were opened up for achieving food and
nutrition security of the under-privileged
masses especially in Sub-Saharan Africa,
Latin America and South Asia (Prasanna et
al., 2001). Globally, dissemination of QPM is
recognized as a step towards seeking nutrition
security among economically deprived
sections of the societies as it is cheaper, more
affordable and easy to produce compared to
animal protein (Gupta et al., 2009). The
protein quality in terms of % casein is highest
in opaque-2 followed by QPM than NM and
some other important cereals. This
information has been compiled in Table 3.
Agronomically, the opaque 2 varieties failed
on farmers’ fields due to a number of reasons
including low yield, chalky soft grains and
greater vulnerability to stored insect-pests
despite its superior protein quality. QPM, on
the other hand, displayed promise in tackling
nutrition-related issues and has elicited keen
interest amongst marginalized farming
communities. Hence, breeding and production
of QPM stands out as an alternative protein

source for poor-resource farming/ tribal
communities. It has the potential to fulfill the
protein requirements of different sections of
society, viz. infants, lactating mothers,
convalescing patients, Kwashiorkor diseased,
old persons and infirm, etc. It can also be
effectively utilized for diversified purposes as
health food/mixes, convenience foods,
specialty foods and emergency ration.

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Nutritional studies have demonstrated that
QPM consumption can reduce or prevent
stunted growth in young children whose diets
are heavy in maize (Gunaratne et al., 2010).
The products developed from QPM can also
replace fancied and highly priced industrial
foods. These can also be prepared in villages
and thus could be a great source of rural
entrepreneurship as well.
By virtue of its balanced amino acid profile,
QPM has opened a new opportunity in the
area of animal nutrition as well. The global
shift in cereal demand favoring maize reflects
rising incomes with consequent growth in
meat consumption which drives demand for

maize as a major feed crop. The projections
have indicated 30% increase in global
demand for monogastric animals like poultry
and pork. The poultry industry is seeking
maize with improved amino acids and oil
content (Hellin and Erenstein, 2009). To
exploit fully their genetic potential, balanced
diets are required (Ignjatovic-Micic et al.,
2013).
Nutritionally
enhanced
QPM
augmented with oil therefore has potential for
replacing more expensive dietary sources of
fats and proteins. In animal feed, a high oil
concentration in kernels is desirable since the
calorific value of oil is higher than that of
starch with better utilization of oil and protein
(Saleh et al., 1997; Yin et al., 2002). The
experiments of dietary replacement of NM by
QPM demonstrated significant increase in the
weight gain of broilers with greatly improved
feed efficiency. In broiler diet, the
substitution of QPM for NM at a rate of 60%
substantially reduces the need for soybean
meal and therefore the cost (Subsuban et al.,
1990). Similarly, in an experiment with
finisher pigs, less soybean meal was needed
to maximize performance in diets based on
QPM compared with diets having NM. Linear

programming models allow feed companies to
identify the cheapest way of providing the
minimum dietary requirements for farm stock.

Calculations for pig and poultry ration
containing NM, QPM, sorghum, soybeans
meal and synthetic lysine and tryptophan
showed that the usage of QPM in place of
maize resulted in saving of 2.8% on chickens
feed and 3.4 % on pig feed (Lopez-Pereira,
1992). Studies have also documented
improved growth in pigs when QPM is
substituted for conventional maize thereby
increasing the bio- available protein (Mbuya
et al., 2011; Yongfeng and Jay-Lin, 2016).
Thus, QPM can reduce the cost of animal feed
by decreasing the expenditure incurred on
more expensive high protein sources.
Exogenous vs. endogenous fortification
Foods such as flour, salt, sugar, and cooking
oil, have been frequent vehicles for food
fortification by adding essential vitamins and
minerals. But this is expensive, unpopular as
well as un-economical. Recent advances
focused on staple crop enrichment, such as
maize and maize-based food products. QPM
provides an ideal germplasm - base upon
which a number of nutritionally important
traits such as Fe, Zn, oil, carotenes,
tocopherols, methionine, etc could be

combined to strengthen breeding of nutrientenriched biofortified maize (Vallabhaneni et
al., 2009; Kuhnen et al., 2009; Jaradat and
Goldstein, 2013, 2018; Changan et al., 2017).
With some identified donors for high
nutrients, varieties are being developed
through conventional breeding by crossing
with popular varieties. Recent approaches for
biofortification include identification of
genomic regions/candidate genes for high
nutrients through tagging/identification of
major genes or mapping of quantitative trait
loci (QTL) followed by their introgression
into popular varieties. Being a genetic
solution, growing biofortified crops does not
require any additional expenditure by farmers
as this approach uses intrinsic properties of
crops. In India, biofortified crops have been

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developed circumventing transgenic approach
through conventional and molecular breeding,
and therefore, regulatory constraints are not
applicable for their release. Hence,
endogenous fortification by way of varietal
development with target traits remains the
best option.

Varietal development in maize (and QPM)
in India
With the launch of All India Coordinated
Maize Improvement Project (AICMIP) later
re-christened as All India Coordinated
Research Project on maize (AICRP on maize)
in 1957 at Pusa Campus, New Delhi, a strong
foundation
for
systematic
varietal
development was laid (Dhillon et al., 2006).
Between 1961 and 2017, a total 348 cultivars
of maize emanated from public and
proprietary breeding programmes in the
country (Kaul et al., 2017). Majority of the
released cultivars are of NM type possessing
yellow F / SF kernels. Besides, a small
percentage of white OPVs and hybrids have
also been bred. The quality breeding has been
the forte of public institutions in India. In the
pursuit of developing quality hybrids, an
increased emphasis is being laid on
developing genetically diverse inbred lines
with improved protein quality as well as
agronomic performance. Many breeding
centres made use of diverse source
germplasm
like hybrids,
populations,

segregating lines, etc and extracted hundreds
of lines of early, medium or late maturity
varying in kernel texture and with resistance
to biotic stresses, e.g. Maydis leaf blight
(MLB), Turcicum leaf blight (TLB) and
charcoal rot (CR) and tolerance to abiotic
stresses viz. drought, etc. The most desirable
inbreds have been used in 2- parent
combinations and the best combinations have
been released as commercial QPM hybrids.
Till date, more than a dozen SCHs of QPM
have been released for cultivation. These

hybrids possess higher contents of tryptophan
ranging between 0.67% and 1.08% (in
endosperm proteins) while protein contents
range from 8.86% to10.80%, respectively.
The information on quality traits in released
hybrids of yellow QPM is given in Table 4.
Besides, some of the promising lines have
also been registered at ICAR-NBPGR, New
Delhi so as to facilitate sharing of germplasm
/ expediting of inbred-hybrid technology in
the country (Table 5).
Maize processing
Maize with increased protein quality i.e. QPM
has high nutritional value for human food,
animal feed, and industrial processing. Maize
is an integral component in making both food
as well as non-food industrial products which

have good commercial value. Large-scale
maize processing produces a large number of
industrial products and also provides more
employment opportunities.
Maize is usually processed by two distinct
processes, namely dry milling and wet
milling. Former involves the maize kernels to
be screened, tempered with hot water/steam to
loosen the germ and bran. This is followed by
removal of germ. The husk is separated by
means of aspirators. The degermed maize is
subjected to milling to produce grits, meal
and flour. Dry milling produces grits, com
flour, and a minimum amount of com meal as
well. Maize is generally processed to
manufacture cornstarch by wet milling
method. The by-products of starch
manufacture like com oil, com steep liquor,
gluten etc. are important value added
products. Wet milling process involves the
splitting of the grain into four main
components, namely germ, bran (or fibre),
gluten and starch in sequence. Maize starch is
extensively used as a sizing material in the
textile and paper industries. In the food
industry, it is used in the preparation of pies,

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Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(2): 3037-3048

puddings, salad dressings and confections.
Maize starch is also used for the production of
dextrose and com syrup. Various food
technologies are currently used for processing
industrially produced maize flours and corn
meals in different parts of the world to obtain
precooked refined maize flour, dehydrated
nixtamalized flour, fermented maize flours,
and other maize products. These products
have different intrinsic vitamin and mineral

contents. All the major sweeteners are
commercially made from maize starch.
In conclusions, nutritional insecurity is among
the major threats to the growing population
especially in the developing countries of the
world. Maize is a good source of vitamins,
minerals, starch, sugar and dietary fiber
among many nutrients.

Table.1 Status of macromolecules in Indian maize genotypes
Parameter

Range (%)

Parameter

Range (%)

Starch

67-72

Sugar

2-6

Protein
Fat

8-12
2-4

Oil
Fibre

1-5
2-3
Source: Anonymous, 2010

Table.2 Status of various protein fractions and amino acids in NM and QPM kernels of Indian
genotypes
Protein / amino acid
Albumins
Globulins
Prolamines
Glutelins
Tryptophan

Lysine

NM (%)
3.2
1.5
47.2
35.1
0.3 or less
1.2-1.5

QPM (%)
13.2
3.9
22.8
50.0
0.6 or more
2.4 or more
Source: Anonymous, 2010

Table.3 Protein quality in different types of maize vis a vis other cereals
Cereal
Rice
Wheat
Normal
maize(NM)
Opaque-2 maize
QPM
Oats

Protein quality

(% casein)
79.3

Cereal
Sorghum

Protein quality
(% casein)
32.5

38.7
32.1

Barley
Pearl millet

58.0
46.4

96.8
82.1
59.0

Finger millet
Teff
Rye

35.7
56.2
64.8

Source: FAO 2002

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Table.4 Protein and tryptophan contents in yellow QPM hybrids released in India
Hybrid
Pusa VQPM9 improved*
Pusa HM9 improved
Pusa HM4 improved
Pusa HM8 improved
Pratap QPM1
HQPM 1
HPQM 4
HPQM 5
HQPM-7
VQPM -9
Shaktiman-3
Shaktiman-4

Protein (%)
9.37
10.50
10.80
10.50
10.57
10.09
10.30

10.15
9.80
9.20
9.27
8.86

Tryptophan (%)
0.74
0.68
0.91
1.06
0.67
0.79
0.67
0.69
0.72
0.70
0.70
0.67
*also enriched with provitamin A

Table.5 Characteristics of unique lines of QPM registered at ICAR-NBPGR
s.#

Lines

INGR #

DQL 2105-1

Source
germplasm
HQPM7

17013

Breeding
centre
IIMR

1
2

DQL 2048

HQPM1

17014

IIMR

3
4

DQL 1019
DMRQPM58

HQPM1
Shakti -1

17023
14012

IIMR
DMR

5

DMRQPM
(03)-124

Shakti-1

14013

DMR

Medium maturity,
tryptophan 0.67% in protein

6

DMRQPM102

CLQRCY 30

13074

DMR

Medium maturity,
tryptophan 0.66% and
moderately resistant to
MLB

7

DMRQPM103

CLQRCY41

13023

DMR

8

HKI 5072-2 BT

DMRQPM50
72

10083

Karnal

9

DMRQPM-107

CLQRCY47B

10084

DMR

Early maturity, low ASI,
tryptophan 0.67%
Medium maturity, yellow,
flint, high tryptophan,
attractive grain colour, dark
green leaves
Medium maturity, yellow,
flint, high tryptophan, good

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Major traits
Source of resistance to
MLB and TLB
Source of resistance to
MLB and TLB
Source of resistance to CR
Early maturity, tryptophan
0.66% in protein


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(2): 3037-3048

10

11

HKI-170(1+2)
VQL-3

CML170
-

09064
09012

Karnal
Almora

12

VQL-8

-

09013

Almora

13

VQL-12

-

09014

Almora

14

VQL-16

-

09015

Almora

15

VQL-30

-

09016

Almora

16

HKI-164D-4

CML164

08076

Karnal

17

HKI-164-7-6

CML164

08077

Karnal

18

VQL-1

CM212 x
CML170

08011

Almora

19

VQL- 2

VL145 x

CML180

08012

Almora

The cost-benefit ratio of maize production is
highest among the cereals because of its very
high productivity while the economics of its
cultivation is almost similar as that of
sorghum and wheat. Since a lot of small-scale
farmers are involved in maize farming, it
makes it an affordable source of nourishment
for people living in rural areas. QPM hybrid
seed availability is an issue that concerns the
public institutions as no private organizations
have ventured into QPM research. So to solve
the availability of quality seed, special
attention has to be paid by developing
regional seed hubs. Such alternative sites for
seed production of QPM hybrids may be

combiner, thin cob
Late maturity, yellow, flint
Early maturity, orange,
flint, high tryptophan
(>0.83%)
Medium maturity, orange,
flint, high tryptophan
(>0.94%)

Early maturity, orange,
flint, high tryptophan
(>0.75%)
Early maturity, yellow,
flint, high tryptophan
(>0.73%)
Early maturity, orange,
flint, high tryptophan
(>0.71%)
Late maturity, yellow and
semi-dent grain and MLB
resistant, QPM
Late maturity, orange and
semi-dent grain and MLB
resistant, QPM
Medium maturity, semiflint, yellow grains with
cap, high tryptophan
(>0.6%)
Early maturity, flint, orange
grains, high tryptophan
(>0.6%)

identified with requisite isolation distance,
good connectivity of roads, assured irrigation
and storage facilities.
In India, tribal population constitutes
approximately 10% of the total population
and is found in most parts of the country
especially in the states of Madhya Pradesh,
Assam, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,

North east, etc. Tribal people are
acknowledged to have very close association
with ecosystem and environment because of
their dependence on nature directly for daily
requirements. However, the problem of
malnutrition arises due to inadequate intake of

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nutrients in the diet. Further, most of tribal
populations depend on maize as their basic
diet. In these areas, therefore, substituting
QPM for NM to ensure food and nutritional
security is paramount. Several measures are
urgently needed for popularizing QPM among
the various stakeholders including farmers
and end-users. For example, Government of
India can make provisions to introduce QPM
in public distribution system and QPM- based
food in mid - day meal in schools and
anganwadis.
Hence,
increasing
the
productivity and managing the quality aspects
would immensely benefit the growers and
consumers alike.

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How to cite this article:
Jyoti Kaul, Khushbu Jain and Dhirender Olakh. 2019. An Overview on Role of Yellow Maize
in Food, Feed and Nutrition Security. Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 8(02): 3037-3048.
doi: />
3048